Fire Safety Management Structure - Media Factory Building - Case Study Example

Fire Safety and Legislation (Insert Name) (Institution Affiliation) Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1.0Introduction 3 2.0 Fire safety management structure 4 2.1 General Building Information 4 2.2 Fire risk assessment 5 2.3 Fire prevention and arson awareness 6 2.4 Fire Fighting Equipment 6 3.0 Building Emergency Response Procedures 7 3.1 Emergency response 7 3.2 Evacuation strategies 8 3.2.1 Recommended Equipment 8 3.2.2 Staff evacuation instructions 8 3.2.3 After Hour evacuation strategy 9 3.2.4 Assembly Area Procedures 9 4.0 Conclusion 10 References 10 1.0 Introduction Fire safety within a building especially one with unrelated occupiers who usually share common areas and mixed premises is an extremely important element in any building. The main objective of this fire management plan is to create awareness about fire safety to all the occupants of the Media Factory building which is within the University of Central Lancashire and empower them information to be used as guideline for formulating and executing emergency procedures that are aimed at facilitating orderly, timely and safe evacuation if a situation demands. This plan has been designed in accordance with the legal and statutory requirements of the regulatory reforms of England and Wales, Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) order 2005, which is commonly referred to as RR (FS) O 2005. The fire safety management plan also contains guidelines for fire safety enforcement officers and rescue authorities on ways of ensuring adequate fire safety in the specified building and offer practical procedure to be followed on assessment of fire risk and proper measures that ought to be taken in case of an emergency which are in accordance with the fire legislation (Britain, 2005). However, it should be noted that this document does not introduce new regulations, standards or substitute the existing ones but it only builds upon the good practice and safety guidance that is already in place all over the country and will be subject to review. Whilst fire or explosion is the main reason for implementing a sound evacuation plan, other instances such as bomb scare, gas leaks, extreme weather conditions, electrical faults and earth quakes may as well necessitate premises evacuation (Wright, 2001). Thus it is of vital importance that all the stakeholders and occupants of a building be well conversant with the emergency evacuation protocol. 2.0 Fire safety management structure The UK fire safety legislation requires that each organization or institution appoint a person to take responsibility in all matters concerning fire safety. In England and Wales, such person is commonly known as the ‘Responsible Person’. All the fire safety duties are imposed on the responsible person by the legislation. In case of an emergency, the Responsible Person should do their best in ensuring everybody or nearly everyone evacuates the premises and particularly pays special attention to people with any kind of disability who might require special assistance (CIBSE, 2003). The Responsible persons are also required to carry out comprehensive fire risk assessment and identify possible risks and hazards; apply fire prevention principles, take general risk and fire precautions, ensure a working fire detection system is in place; formulate adequate fire safety arrangements, safety procedures and policy and provide adequate means of escaping. 2.1 General Building Information The Media Factory building is located at the city campus and has four floors. The main entrance is located on the eastern side. Other exits are located on the western and northern sides. The building has stairs on the western and eastern side. Lifts are also located in these regions but in case of an emergency, all occupants should use the stairs. The exit signs are located in every corridor identifying all emergency exit points from all sections of the building and are continuously illuminated (Malhotra, 1987). The building emergency lighting system is put in place as a backup should the main power fail in case of a fire emergency. Media Factory is a complex building. Facilities within the Media Factory include; studio space, high tech workspaces and offices, theatre halls, Centre for Employability and has the space for a number of small businesses to take advantage of new PCs and internet connections. It also features its own publishing house, theatre space and art house cinema. 2.2 Fire risk assessment Risk assessment is the vital element of the legislation. It involves an organized appraisal and methodical evaluation of the building and the activities carried there on to enable an individual identify the likelihood of fire and the potential risks and hazards together with people who might be affected in the event of a fire outbreak and their location. The RR (FS) O imposes this duty to the responsible person (Britain, 2005). The Responsible person must assess the hazards and evaluate the risks before deciding whether the fire precautions in place are adequate or not. He or she should identify measures that ought to be taken in order to reduce or totally eliminate the fire risks. The risk assessment can be broken down into five steps. First and foremost is identifying the fire hazards. Here, the basic needs that are required to start a fire are examined. These are fuel, ignition and oxygen. Sources of ignition include smokers, naked flames, electric or gas heaters, kitchen equipment, faulty electrical equipment, electrical installation and arson among many others. Fuel is made up of anything that can burn while natural air consist abundant oxygen. Secondly, risk assessment requires the identification of people at risk in case of fire and their location. The third step is evaluating ways of reducing or eliminating risks and protecting those facing potential harm. Step for is to record, inform, plan instruct and train the people involved about the action plan to be followed during fire emergency. The final step is regular reviewing of general fire precautions and the risk assessment. 2.3 Fire prevention and arson awareness The Media Factory building has fire protection equipment. The building is equipped with an automated alarm and fire detection system which is directly link to the fire authority system. Thermal detectors and smoke sensors are strategically positioned in various locations throughout the building. The building is also fitted with several manual call points (Rinder, 2008). All the fire system components are located in clear locations where they stand unobstructed. Upon detection of abnormal heat or smoke, the fire alarm will be activated and sound throughout the premises. The air conditioning will be shut down automatically and the sprinklers will be activated upon confirmation of fire. 2.4 Fire Fighting Equipment Portable dry powder fire extinguishers and hose reels are located in locations that are easily identifiable at every floor of the Media Factory building. The occupants are required to undergo basic fire fighting training and familiarize themselves with the location of this equipment and their suitability for various fire types such as electrical, ordinary combustibles, flammable liquids and other dangerous substances. However, it should be noted that the fire extinguishers should only be used when the fire is small or at the incipient stages. Before an extinguisher is used, one must identify the type of fuel that is burning, the most suitable extinguisher for that type of fire and more importantly how to operate the selected extinguisher. Fire extinguishers are broadly categorized into four groups as tabulated below. Table 2.1(source: (CIBSE, 2003)) Type Category Fire type for which it is suitable Water Combustible Solids - Class A Cloth, wood, paper and plastic Foam all flammable liquids - Class B Paint, oil, Petrol Carbon Dioxide flammable gasses - Class C Propane, Methane, Butane and electrical equipment Dry Chemical Class D and E – combustible solids, metals and flammable liquids All types of fires 3.0 Building Emergency Response Procedures An emergency protocol is necessary in order to ensure safe evacuation and proper fire incident management. The Media factory building has enough escape routes but the evacuation process must be coordinated properly to ensure no one is trapped inside in case of fire emergency. 3.1 Emergency response In case of visible fire or situation when the fire alarms are activated, the security personnel and the responsible person should assist the people to evacuate the premises to the fire assembly areas located outside the building without endangering themselves. If they have undergone the basic fire fighting training, they should fight the fire but only it is safe. All the occupants of the building and the visitors should remain in the assembly area until the person in charge accounts for everyone. Everybody is advised to remain calm and restrain from re-entering the building until the fire fighting authority declares the building safe. In case of a faulty fire alarm, the responsible person should reassure the occupants about the situation and notify the fire department of the situation. Fire fighting authorities should be allowed to conduct an investigation to ascertain the building is safe. 3.2 Evacuation strategies The fire safety regulation requires that every have an evacuation coordinator who most of the time is the Building Warden and he or she should be assisted by others who have been appointed to be in charge of every floor of the Media Factory Building. In case if a fire emergency, the building warden is obligated by the laws to perform the following actions: Assess the nature of risk and determine the most appropriate actions Initiate an emergency protocol that observes general fire precautions Initiate evacuation procedures which include controlling entry to the affected sections of the building and proceeding to the fire indicator panel to commence evacuation. Ensure the progress of evacuation and all actions take are recorded in the fire incident management log. Ensure relevant fire authorities have been called, inform the affected sections using PA system and initiate a search. 3.2.1 Recommended Equipment All the persons responsible for evacuation should be equipped with a good quality torch, a construction type helmet with the title of the wearer, documentation of the emergency procedure and the building’s plan with clearly indicated escape routes or Exits (CIBSE, 2003). The warden and the assistant wardens should wait until the fire stairs are cleared and assist those tripping or falling on the stairs while restricting the occupants from carrying bulky items into the exit stairs. 3.2.2 Staff evacuation instructions In case any of the staff discovers fire, he or she should activate the fire alarm immediately by triggering the nearest fire alarm (Santos-Reyes & Beard, 2001). The staff should also ensure that the fire service is called and potentially dangerous machine or process is terminated immediately. Without further delay, the staff should notify the building warden and leave the building through the nearest fire exit route. In case a staff receives a fire warning or hears a fire alarm, he or she should shut down potentially dangerous machines in his or her line of work, follow the instructions of the floor warden and leave the building through the nearest fire exit route as fast as possible without running. The staff should assist any person with disability and report to the fire assembly area where they will await further instructions. 3.2.3 After Hour evacuation strategy In case the fire incident takes place after the normal working hour or at night, everybody still in the building leave the building quickly and check on their colleagues to ensure they are not asleep. They should report to the front of the building and ensure the security and fire agencies are called. The warden should then initiate a search including toilets and other private area for stragglers to ensure building is clear 3.2.4 Assembly Area Procedures All the students, visitors and stall should remain in the fire assembly points until the situation has been contained or instructed otherwise by the responsible person or fire agencies. The individuals conducting building search must update the warden about their current location and report their findings once they are through (Ramachandran, 1999). It is of paramount importance that the occupants remain calm and prevent panic. Under no circumstances whatsoever should anyone who does not work for fire agency be allowed to re-enter the building after successful evacuation. 4.0 Conclusion To ensure this fire safety plan is effective, the campus should arrange frequent evacuation drills. The campus should also dedicate some resources in training the permanent staff who work within the Media Factory building on the basic fire fighting techniques. Generally, the building is well equipped with modern fire detection and protection system and they should be maintained to ensure they are in good working conditions. References Britain, G. (2005, June 7). Regulatory Reforms, England and Wales. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. West Yorkshire: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. CIBSE. (2003). Fire Engineering CIBSE Guide E. London: The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers. Malhotra, H. L. (1987). Fire safety in buildings. Department of the Environment, Building Research Establishment, Fire Research Station. Ramachandran, G. (1999). Fire safety management and risk assessment. Facilities, 17(9/10), 363-377. Rinder, C. S. (2008). Fire safety in the operating room. Current Opinion in Anesthesiology, 21(6), 790-795. Santos-Reyes, J., & Beard, A. N. (2001). A systemic approach to fire safety management. Fire safety journal, 36(4), 359-390. Wright, D. (2001). Legislation-Draft for Consultation: BS9999. FIRE ENGINEERS JOURNAL, 61, 34-35. Read More